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Sunday, August 2, 2015

I can’t believe this was over a week ago! I better write it down fast, as my memories of Cora being born are already being replaced by memories of her doing much cuter things - like blowing through 10 diapers before the morning is complete.

I went to my midwife appointment Friday morning, which was 6 days past my due date, ready for anything. After the baby passed the NST, she checked me and luckily I had dilated to a “loose 1,” which was progress compared to my “fingertip” the Tuesday before. Not getting our hopes up, we discussed possible C-section dates. After some back and forth, we agreed that if I didn’t go into labor by Monday (9 days past my due date), we would schedule a C-section.

We spent the rest of the day on Friday doing anything and everything that could possibly induce labor. I chased Ina down the street, ate spicy foods, Dan gave me foot rubs, etc. On Friday afternoon I started to not feel very good and actually took a nap while Ina was napping, which is extremely rare for me. I woke up from the nap and felt a tightening in my stomach that grew more intense and then let loose again. Finally, I had felt a contraction. (I was so excited then to feel them, but soon, not so much.)

Again, not wanting to get my hopes up, we went about our evening as usual. Dan grilled steaks for dinner and we watched the Royals game. Dan’s parents had stayed with us all week awaiting the baby, but his step-dad went home on Friday. Thankfully, his mom stayed. As we were eating dinner I started to feel more contractions. Then, after dinner I saw that I had lost my mucous plug. Now, i know this can happen days before labor, but in my mind that meant this was the real deal. I texted my sister and a few friends and started timing my contractions on my phone.

Unfortunately, Dan wasn’t feeling very good Friday night, so we went to bed early, which was probably a good idea. By 10 PM, I started having contractions every 10 minutes, and they were uncomfortable, but not really painful. I fell asleep until around 2, when a contraction that was more painful woke me up. By 3 AM, they started to get even more painful and that is when the nausea set in.

Every 6 contractions or so I would dry heave from the nausea associated with the pain. Not so fun. My midwife told me to call them when I could no longer talk or walk through a contraction, and I thought dry heaving met that criteria. I lasted until 6 AM and finally called. They of course told me to come in, if anything to treat my nausea.

Dan took a shower, we took Ina downstairs to spend the morning with Granny, and by 7 AM we were walking in the hospital. The contractions became more painful on the drive in, and were occurring every 4 to 5 minutes.

[What a 41 weeks pregnant woman looks like who was up all night hugging the toilet]

We were sent to triage, where I was hooked up to the monitors and gave them all sorts of information. Finally, the lovely nurse checked me and I was only dilated to a 2. Ugh. She told me she didn’t think I was in labor, but would give me 40 minutes to walk the halls of the maternity ward.

I always hear about women having to do this, but what I never picture is how incredibly awkward it would be to walk the halls of a maternity ward looking like a zombie who every few minutes stops to sway and moan in pain. I seriously think I scared a few people. Most of the nurses just ignored me. I suppose they are pretty used to it.

After 40 minutes the nurse checked me again and I was still only a 2. She said I would likely need to go home, but my midwife (who was on call that day) would come see me first. I really didn’t want to go home. I wanted to have a baby.

When Jeane (my midwife) came in the room, I was so, so happy to see her. She went over my options:

Stay and try to induce labor by breaking my water, which would increase my risk for a repeat C-section.

Stay and walk the halls for another hour and see if things progressed.

Go home and come back when I was further along.

I chose option 2. While she was in the triage room with me, I had a dry heaving episode. I think she took me more seriously after that. During the next hour of walking the halls, the contractions grew much closer together - like every 2 to 3 minutes. I started dry heaving every 3 to 4 contractions. By the time the hour was over I was convinced I was not going home. Even if it meant I needed a C-section, I was not going to leave that hospital until I had a baby in my arms.

However, another hour was all it took, when she checked me again I was at a 4! Hallelujah! This was true labor. Time to have a baby!

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Please excuse the quiet around here - I have been sucked into the world of having a newborn and anytime I think I might have an extra second to write I instead opt to smell her head.

I know you completely understand.

First of all, I am thankful for epidurals. I hope to write Cora’s birth story for either Friday or Monday’s post, but let me tell you, those things are a direct gift from God. I used to say that vaccines were the single best medical discovery, but now I may have to change my tune.

I am thankful for all the sweet visitors, gifts, and favors we have received the past few days. From dinners to outfits to errands, this week we have been reminded how truly loved and blessed our little family is. Saying thank you never feels like enough.

I am thankful for Ina’s transition to being a big sister.

This topic deserves it’s own post, but so far she is loving “her baby” and seems to like the idea of keeping her around.

I am thankful for Dan’s two week paternity leave. Daddy-baby bonding is just as important and it frees up my time a little too.

I am thankful for my pregnant self for taking the time to make and freeze lactation cookies. A healthy, tasty, and one-hand-friendly snack.

I am thankful I was able to take a 2 hour nap yesterday morning after Ina went to daycare. Miss Cora likes to eat every 2 hours and takes about 30 minutes to eat, which adds up to me not getting very much sleep. It is amazing what two extra hours can do to help a tired momma out.

I am thankful to not be pregnant anymore. Although totally worth it, I was pretty miserable towards the end. Even with the not so fun recovery of labor and delivery I still feel way better than I did a week ago.

- Attempts of putting myself into labor - long walks, spicy food, food rubs, etc. Although they are not starting any type of contractions, they are still nice.

General baby update: At my appointment on Tuesday, the baby passed the biophysical profile assessment (the ultrasound), but then the sonographer found my midwife and told her that although she passed, she felt the baby was acting “sluggish.” Of course, when I heard that I started freaking out, but my midwife calmly told us that we could do a non-stress test (pictured above) to check out the baby’s heart rhythm. Afterwards, my midwife shared the results with the rest of the docs and midwives in the practice and they all agreed that she looked perfectly healthy and was likely just sleepy during the ultrasound.

I have an appointment on Friday (tomorrow) to have another non-stress test and make the decision on what to do next from there. My midwife told me that they don’t let VBACs go more than a week past their due dates (my was last Saturday), which would mean I would likely have a C-section after my appointment on Friday, on Saturday, or maybe Monday at the latest.

I am trying not to get upset, but the more I think about it, the more I want to have a successful VBAC, but I know in the big picture of things how the baby is born doesn’t matter very much, as long as she is healthy. I am going to try to spend the rest of the day focusing on that - me holding a perfectly healthy beautiful baby.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Last night I found a doctor who was willing to admit me for baby delivery.

Too bad she planned on using an otoscope and kisses to get the baby out.

No real updates over here. I am still pregnant with no signs of labor except for a sore back, which could also mean nothing. I have a midwife appointment today and am looking forward to at least seeing this baby via ultrasound.

Dan’s parents are here, which has been so restful. We had Chinese takeout for dinner and Ina slept with them last night, which corresponded to me getting a completely full night’s sleep. Now that I have one full night’s sleep behind me, I am ready to tackle the next 6 months of not getting any.

Yesterday my short term disability insurance called me to confirm that Monday was my last day of work. I laughed and told them to expect me to work for the rest of the week. Ha! I now see why some women need to use part of their maternity leave before they have the baby, although I think I would just sit around and think about it more, so probably best I keep working (from home) for now.

Monday, July 20, 2015

{Fruit and soda water is my newest obsession. This is blackberries with fresh mint, but my favorite so far is watermelon. So refreshing!)

To break down the weekend, I thought I would go over some highs and lows. Let’s get the lows over with first, shall we?

- No baby. Over the weekend, my due date came and went without any sign that the baby would be coming any sooner. However, this is likely a good thing, considering how the rest of the weekend went.

- Lice. On Friday morning, when I was combing Ina’s hair, I saw she had lice.

I know.

However, with a lot of help from my family and advice from my friends, along with coconut oil, peanut butter M&M’s, and about 40 loads of laundry, there hasn’t been a sign of it since Friday. Whew. I know how horribly hard it can be to get rid of, but I think Ina had a “mild case” if such a thing exists and thankfully it hadn’t spread to Dan or I yet. Also, even though Ina didn’t really understand what was going on, she was a trooper through the whole process. On a positive note, this baby will come home to a fully disinfected house with everything that could fit in the dishwasher or washing machine recently cleaned. Also, smothering your hair in coconut oil for 12 hours makes it very soft and shiny.

- Sick. Ina and I have some type of cough, sinus, congestion thing that has made sleeping very difficult for both of us. Thankfully, I feel much better today and Ina stopped her constant coughing about midnight last night, so here’s hoping our house is on the path to health.

Now, for the highs:

- My dear friend Sarah is in town! I met her and some of my other high school friends for dinner on Friday night.

Then, she and her mom stopped by with gifts for the baby, Ina, and me! As always, it was so, so nice to see her.

- I got a pedicure, which felt amazing.

- Ina and I went on a walk, while unsuccessfully trying to induce labor. It did successfully wear her out for her nap, after she insisted on dragging that wagon for over half a mile. That girl is nothing if not determined and persistent.

- A sore throat calls for a lot of popsicles, which are easier to clean up if you just start in the bath.

- We harvested our first red tomatoes from the garden

- Dan picked up Indian take-out last night for dinner. So good.

- Dan’s parents are here and I think they are staying until the baby comes, which will logistically help when/if I go into labor.

That’s all I have - I hope you have a good week! I think it is a good week to have a baby!

Friday, July 17, 2015

My sleep was all over the place last night. I didn’t fall asleep until midnight, and then was awake from 3 to 5:30. Maybe I am experiencing the energy surge that everyone refers to right before labor? Or maybe the reality of having another baby is finally hitting me and my mind won’t stop racing?

Yep, that’s likely it. Last night I couldn’t get the image of Ina pushing the baby in her rocker down the stairs out of my head. But, that’s just silly. She would never do that.

Right? Right.

Best to strap her in just in case.

I can’t complain too much about still being prego. In general, I am feeling pretty good. I am also getting a lot of extra quality time with Ina. Yesterday we read at least 20 books and made popscicles. She pretty much thought I was the coolest mom ever.

Fudgesicles are fun to make and even more fun to clean off with the garden hose after dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had our neighbor friends over last night (which was lovely) and beforehand Kim trimmed my hair and gel manicured my nails. There is just something about having my nails done that makes me feel like a new woman.